Fishing rod rack

ABSTRACT

A rack for storing or displaying rod blanks, fishing rods and fishing rod-reel combinations in an upright vertical position or for a rod/tackle box combination. The rack is generally spherical in configuration and comprises top and bottom sections which may be separated in order to open the bottom section for insertion of ballast or other weights.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/131,940 filed Jun. 12, 2008.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a rod rack and more particularly to a rack for holding multiple fishing rods or rod and reel combination units either as a display, storage unit or a rod holder/tackle box combination.

2. Prior Art

There are many rack or support stand systems and designs in use for supporting fishing rods, rod and reel combinations, rod blanks or other rod like items for storage or for display in sporting goods shops and the like. Such items are normally either placed side-by-side on a specially adapted ledge or shelf at a convenient level, simply stood upright on the floor or held in multiple-slotted retaining racks. Some displays are merely placed in various types of pails or buckets or the like containers. The problem of storage and display, of course, is augmented when the individual rods are presented with attached reel mechanisms as a combination package. It is also desirable in certain circumstances to present the rod and/or rod-reel combination in an attractive display or theme display presentation for sales and marketing promotion. Additionally, the elongated rods and/or rod-reel combinations are cumbersome to handle and hold upright during display, requiring some sort of stabilized structure and/or weighted base to maintain them secure in the upright position. The present structure provides a solution to the problems described by providing a sturdy optionally weighted base which maintains multiple rod and rod-reel combination items in an upright position for display and inspection or for storage while presenting the items in a promotional display mode such as a fishing gear theme.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fishing rod rack with fishing rod and reel combinations being illustrated in dotted lines as mounted in the rack;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the rod rack taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is top plan view of the rod rack; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the rod rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A rod rack according to the present disclosure may be utilized to mount a multiplicity of rods or fishing rod-reel combinations securely held in an upright position while at the same time presenting a fishing gear theme in the nature of a well-known fishing bobber configuration. The rod rack or holder 1 may be constructed in generally spherical overall shape as viewed in FIG. 1 which includes a top hemispherical section 2 and a bottom hemispherical section 3. The bottom section 3 is provided with a circular base 4 which may be either a flat solid section as shown in FIG. 2 or possibly a circular ring configuration. In any event, the base 4 will be designed to provide a stable flat base for seating the spherical body 1 on a floor surface or the like.

The top section 2 is designed to be mounted on the bottom section 3 and includes an annular rim 6 for engaging the top rim surface of the bottom section 3 as shown in FIG. 2. The bottom section 3 includes a hinge plate 7 for mating with the hinge extensions 8 carried by the top section 2. A suitable hinge pin 9 connects the hinge members 7 and 8 in a conventional manner so as to allow the top section 2 of the sphere to be pivoted upwardly, giving access to the interior portion of the bottom section 3 for a purpose to be described. The top section 2 further includes a handle mounting structure 11 which may be cylindrical in shape giving the overall appearance of a conventional fishing bobber to the spherical rack 1. The handle mount will include the lifting handle 12 with the handle mount 11 providing a recess for seating the handle 12 in its lowered or released position. The handle 12 includes a downwardly directed shaft 13 and stop member 14 affixed thereto in such a manner that the handle 12 normally rests within the recess in the handle mount 11. The handle may be raised in such a manner that the stop 14 seats against the top wall 16 of the mount 11 for lifting the entire rack or pivoting the top section 2 about the pivot pin 9 to access the interior portion of the bottom section 3. Any form of keeper, such as a slidable friction bar or pivoted latch, may be utilized, as shown schematically at 17, to engage the rim 6 and hold the sections of the rack body together in the closed position for lifting.

Referring to FIG. 2, the top section 2 is formed with downwardly extending tubular receptacles 18, which may be identical, with eight such receptacles being shown in the illustrated embodiment. It will be understood however that the number of receptacles may be varied depending on the size of the rack and/or the number of rods to be held in place. Although the exact dimensions and cross sectional configuration of the receptacles 18 may be varied, each receptacle 18 will include the side walls 19 and bottom wall 21. The receptacles 18 will be sized, of course, to allow the receptacles to clear the rim and sidewall(s) and the upper rim of the bottom section 3 of the rack when top section 2 is pivoted to open the rack. Each receptacle 18 is designed to receive the handle end of a fishing rod as illustrated in FIG. 1 with the insertion of the rod handle being limited by the bottom 21 of the receptacle. In this manner, the rods 22 and rod handles 23 are held in the upright display position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1. The spacing of the receptacles 18 may be chosen so as to accommodate a fishing reel unit 24 on one or more of the rods as desired. The tubular configuration of the receptacles 18 will serve to hold the rods in the upright position as shown. Although the receptacles 18 are illustrated as being molded into the body of the upper section 2, it would also be possible to fabricate the receptacles separately and mount them in suitable openings in the section wall, held either by a snug or snap fit or adhesive. Depending on the total weight of the rack 1, it may be necessary to store ballast such as sand or gravel or other material in the bottom section 3, as shown in FIG. 2, to weight the rack against tipping. This is accomplished by first opening the top section 2 and then partially filling the bottom section 3 with such ballast as shown at 26 in FIG. 2. In the alternative, the bottom section may be secured to the deck, by screws or any suitable mechanical fastener.

The rod rack of the present disclosure may be conveniently manufactured by presently known methods of injection molding such as to form the top and bottom sections 2 and 3 independently including the hemispherical shape of the bottom section 3 and hinge plate 7. Likewise the top section 2 may be a monolithic structure including the tubular walls 19, bottom walls 21 and the hinge extension 8. The handle mount structure 11 may be a part of the monolithic structure of the top section 2 with the handle 12, shaft 13 and stop 14 being added after molding. Likewise the hinge pin 9 is added after molding in order to complete the structure. The latches shown at 17 may be constructed of a variety of configurations, parts of which may be monolithic with the bottom and top sections or attached subsequent to molding. The overall spherical rack 11 may be finished or colored in red and white configurations which, along with the handle mount 11, give the overall impression of a giant fishing bobber. This approach allows a fishing pole rack to function as an eye catching fishing gear theme. As aforementioned, the rack may also function as a rod holder/fishing tackle box combination.

Although the present embodiment has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain structural details and configurations, other embodiments are possible. 

1. A substantially spherical shaped rod rack for holding rod items for display or storage comprising in combination; upper and lower pivotally connected hemispherical body sections allowing access to the interior of said rack, said lower body section including a contact area adapted for contacting a support surface, at least one rod receptacle located in said upper body section and having a downwardly extending wall structure with a bottom wall for supporting a rod item in a substantially upright position.
 2. The rod rack of claim 1 including a plurality of said rod receptacles spaced around the periphery of said upper body section.
 3. The rod rack of claim 2 wherein; each said rod receptacles includes a receptacle opening located in the surface of said upper body section, said receptacle opening having a receptacle rim conforming to the surface configuration of said upper body section.
 4. The rod rack of claim 3 wherein said upper body section and said rod receptacles comprise a monolithic structure.
 5. The rod rack of claim 3 wherein said upper body section includes a plurality of spaced openings about the periphery thereof, said rod receptacles comprise separate structures received in said spaced openings.
 6. The rod rack of claim 3 including a ballast compartment in said lower body section for stabilizing said rack on a support surface.
 7. A substantially spherical shaped rod rack for holding rod items for display or storage comprising; upper and lower pivotally connected hemispherical body sections allowing interior access, said sections including mating rim areas and latch means on said rim areas for selectively latching said sections, at least one rod receptacle located in said upper body section and having a downwardly extending wall structure with a bottom wall for supporting a rod item in a substantially upright position.
 8. The rod rack of claim 7 including a plurality of said rod receptacles spaced around the periphery of said upper body section.
 9. The rod rack of claim 8 wherein; each said rod receptacles includes a receptacle opening located in the surface of said upper body section, said receptacle opening having a receptacle rim conforming to the surface configuration of said upper body section.
 10. The rod rack of claim 8 wherein said upper body section and said rod receptacles comprise a monolithic structure.
 11. The rod rack of claim 9 wherein said upper body section includes a plurality of spaced openings about the periphery thereof, said rod receptacles comprise separate structures received in said spaced openings.
 12. The rod rack of claim 9 including a ballast compartment in said lower body section for stabilizing said rack on a support surface.
 13. A support rack for holding elongated rod items in a stationary substantially upright position for display or storage comprising; a substantially spherical shaped rack body, said rack body including upper and lower hemispherical sections having mating rim areas and hinge means for pivotally connecting said sections for movement between a closed position and an open position for allowing access to the interior of said rack body, latch means on said mating rim areas for selectively latching said sections when in the closed position, said lower hemispherical section including a contact area on the bottom surface thereof for contacting a support surface to maintain said rack body in a supported position, and said upper hemispherical section including a lift handle structure for lifting the rack from the support surface, at least one rod receptacle structure in the wall of said upper hemispherical section for receiving one end of a rod item and holding said item in a substantially upright position when said rack is in the supported position, said rod receptacle extending downwardly from an opening in the wall of said upper hemispherical section a limited distance sufficient to permit said rack body sections to be moved to the open position, said rod receptacle including a bottom wall and tubular side walls, whereby, an end of a rod item may be inserted into said receptacle, supported by the bottom wall thereof and held in a substantially upright position when said rack is in the closed position and supported on a support surface.
 14. The rod rack of claim 13 including a plurality of said rod receptacles spaced around the periphery of said upper body section.
 15. The rod rack of claim 14 wherein; each said rod receptacles includes a receptacle opening located in the surface of said upper body section, said receptacle opening having a receptacle rim conforming to the surface configuration of said upper body section.
 16. The rod rack of claim 15 wherein said upper body section and said rod receptacles comprise a monolithic structure.
 17. The rod rack of claim 15 wherein said upper body section includes a plurality of spaced openings about the periphery thereof, said rod receptacles comprise separate structures received in said spaced openings.
 18. The rod rack of claim 15 including a ballast compartment in said lower body section for stabilizing said rack on a support surface. 